Benjamin Yi

Chairman at Riot Blockchain

Benjamin was recruited in October 2018 to serve as a director and audit committee Chairman. At that time, Riot's market capitalization was approximately $34 million. During his tenure, the Company's collective achievements to-date include the successful termination of the SEC investigation, the elimination of all corporate debt, and significantly improved financial and operational profiles. Benjamin was elected Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the nominating and governance committee, in November 2020.

Benjamin brings significant corporate governance experience to Riot, having served as an independent director and audit committee chair of several private and public companies. He also brings over fifteen years of unique capital markets experience to the Company, and a particular expertise in fintech, specialty finance, and investing throughout a company’s capital structure.

Benjamin currently serves in a consulting capacity at IOU Financial, Inc., a leading public fintech-enabled lender to small businesses, where he works closely with senior management to ensure IOU’s capital structure and funding sources are resilient, diversified, and cost-effective. Prior to IOU, Benjamin worked directly under Ned Goodman, a renowned Canadian financier, investor, and founder of Dundee Corporation, a Toronto-based conglomerate. At Dundee, he worked in an investment capacity, investing throughout the capital structure of companies involved in the natural resource extraction, energy technology, real estate, and automotive sectors. Prior thereto, Benjamin was a research analyst at the predecessor to 1832 Asset Management L.P., where he covered energy, forest products, and special situations investments as part of a team managing one of Canada’s largest and best-performing natural resources investment funds.

Benjamin is a CFA charter holder and holds a Master of Finance degree from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Trinity College in the University of Toronto.

Timeline

  • Chairman

    Current role